Chumbawamba - Slap! (1990) Shhh (1992) agit -prop

It's been 26 years since i first seen the Chumbas play in the back room of a grotty pub in newcastle, i carried on going to see them play well into the 90s, long after they'd lost favor with the anarcho-punk scene. They always got slagged off for wanting to take it a step further, Chumbawamba wanted to use music as a weapon in the war against Capitalism. My partner went to see the acoustic version of the band earlier this year & thought they were still excellent...
Formed in a squat in Leeds, England, in 1984, these northern anarchists were a most unlikely mainstream success story, originally comprised of former Men in a Suitcase frontman Dunstan Bruce, onetime Ow My Hair's on Fire drummer Alice Nutter, and computer technician Lou Watts. After recording a song for a compilation album, the trio teamed with Harry Hamer and Mavis Dillon( members of one of the LP's other contributors, the Passion Killers) and the Chumbawamba lineup was thus complete. Rather than opting for the cathartic and visceral approach of fellow agit-prop, anarchist groups such as Crass, Chumbawamba produced cerebral and reflective music & quickly became a thorn in the side of British conservatives, mounting a series of benefit concerts for a variety of anti-Thatcherite causes and campaigns; before long, they were also the subject of frequent police raids.Released at the height of Live Aid-era goodwill,Chumbawamba's debut LP, Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records appeared in 1986, brutally attacking the principles of media limelight and career-boosting they perceived at the heart of the charitable event. Never Mind the Ballots...Here's the Rest of Your Lives was rush-released in 1987 to coincide with the year's general elections, while their 1989 follow-up EP, English Rebel Songs 1391-1914, consisted primarily of authentic 14th century anti-poll tax protest songs.
With Slap!, Chumbawamba began experimenting with sampling, the follow-up album, to be titled Jesus H. Christ, was banned on the eve of its release after the band failed to obtain the right to cover songs by Kylie Minogue, Paul McCartney, and ABBA. (Consequently, the focus of Shhh was censorship.)

chumbawamba-Slap!

1. Ulrike

2. Tiananmen Square

3. Cartrouble

4. Chase PC's Flee Attack By Own Dog

5. Rubens Has Been Shot !

6. Rappoport's Testament:Never Gave Up

7. Slap !

8. That's How Grateful We Are

9. Meinhof

Recorded in January/February 1990.
Chumbawamba on this record are:
Lou - Vocals, guitar
Dunst - Vocals, percussion, soprano saxophone
Harry - Drums, percussion
Alice Nutter - Vocals
Danbert Nobacon - Vocals
Boff - Guitar, vocals, clarinet
Cobie - Live sound
Mavis Dillan - Bass, trumpet, vocals
Simon Commonknowledge - Keyboards, accordion, piano
with:
Alan Wilkinson - Alto and baritone saxophones
Neil Ferguson - Keyboards
Dill - Whine
Derek - Woof
Mia - Vocals
Tania - Mouth organ, Vocals
Elvis Presley - Quaalude, Placidyl

Also appearing on this record are: Carl Douglas, Mark E Smith, Dagmar Krause, Elvis Presley, Philip Glass, Adam Ant, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, George Gershwin, Penny Rimbaud, Jake Burns, Rob 'n' Raz, Lenny Bruce, Muzsikas Ensemble, Mark Perry, Gang of Four, Poly Styrene

chumbawamba-Shhh

1. Shhh

2. Big Mouth Strikes Again

3. Nothing That's New

4. Behave!

5. Snip Snip Snip

6. Look! No Strings!

7. Happiness Is Just a Chant Away

8. Pop Star Kidnap

9. Sometimes Plunder

10. You Can't Trust Anyone Nowadays

11. Stitch That

Chumbawamba: Boff (vocals, guitar); Mave (vocals, trumpet, bass); Lou (vocals, keyboards); Dunst (vocals, percussion); Alice Nutter, Bert Bacon (vocals).
Additional personnel : Mc Fusion, Howard Storey (vocals); Neil Ferguson (guitar, keyboards).
Recorded in March 1992.

live luton library 85 & 1st demo

live boston arms 87

band website
myspace